


Every Time is the First Time

by idelthoughts



Series: Tumblr Ask Box Fic [14]
Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, F/M, First Kiss, The Philosophies of Immortality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6669100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idelthoughts/pseuds/idelthoughts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how many years Henry lives, no matter how many people he meets, there will never be another like Jo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Time is the First Time

**Author's Note:**

> For a tumblr prompt: "I think I’m in love with you, and I’m terrified."

Henry was two hundred years older than her, had a _child_ that was twice as old as her, and he'd seen more than she could ever possibly see in her lifetime.  Even if Jo set out right this very second to experience as much as she could each and every wakeful minute of each day, she’d never manage to experience a fraction of what Henry had done.  

All that behind him, and yet he looked at her like she was something special, like when she spoke it was the first time he’d heard any of these words said.

“Seriously though,” she said one night after Henry had extracted a story from her about her childhood dog over a late dessert.  “You’ve met so many people, all the stories you hear have to sound the same by now.”

“No, they don’t,” he said solemnly. 

“That’s hard to imagine.  I mean, how many stories can there possibly be about kids and their dogs?  You’ve probably heard it all.”

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side as he considered her, and then stood from the table and extended a hand to her.

“Come with me, I want to show you something.”

Bemused, she took his hand.  He led her to the door leading to the terrace and opened it to usher her outside.  The temperature had fallen as the sun set, and instead of the agonizing heat of the summer day, it was pleasantly warm.  The wind had picked up and tugged at her hair and clothes as they stepped away from the door.

He took her to the terrace railing and pointed her towards downtown, directing her by her shoulders, and stood behind her.  His hands were burning hot through her blouse, and his body was a shield at her back sheltering her from the wind.

“What do you see when you look out there?”

“Henry,” she groaned, already rolling her eyes at his theatrics.

“Humour me.”  His hands moved to her arms, a gentle yet grounding touch.  “What do you see?”

She sighed and looked out as he asked, squinting against the last rays of the setting sun.

“I don’t know.  Buildings?  The sky?  Lots of people about to commit crimes we’re going to have to go solve tomorrow?”

“Look carefully,” he said with a light laugh.  “Anything else?”

Her irritation was mixed with the muddled feeling that came along with having his voice close to her ear as he leaned in to speak above the noise of wind and traffic, and his chest brushing against her back.  She swayed back into him and he tucked her close, his body solid against hers. She scanned the city again, because she didn’t want to break the moment just yet.

“I guess…  There’s buildings, new ones.  More than a few.  I don’t know, I don’t look very often.”

“Yes, precisely.  Nobody does.”

She groaned again and tilted her head back, letting it thump against his shoulder.  He chuckled, and the sound reverberated pleasantly in her ear.

“What is your point, Henry?”

“My _point_ , Jo, is that I have been looking at this city for well over a hundred years, and every time I stop to look, it’s different.  The same goes for people.  If I become lazy, complacent, cynical, then yes—people can start to look the same.”

His hands tugged at her, and she let him turn her around to face him.  He was lit by the last gold of the sun, which caught his hair and made it glow with glinting streaks of red and auburn. His eyes shone with good humour and sincerity.

“But when I look, when I stop and _truly_ look at someone?  It becomes so clear that there is no end to the complexity and uniqueness of people.  Every story you tell me of your life and your experiences will be the first and last time I hear such a tale.  Every moment spent with you is one I will never be able to experience with anyone else, ever again.”

His thumbs brushed her shoulders through the thin fabric, and Jo thought she might be sick from the fluttering rush of nerves in her stomach.

She thought he was going to kiss her—no, she knew he _wanted_ to kiss her—but he didn’t.  Instead his smile faded, and he studied her face carefully.  He slid his hands down her arms and released her, but he didn’t back away.

“What’s wrong, Jo?”

"Nothing,” she said, and her voice shook.

“And you tell me _I’m_ a poor liar.  Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“I know I can.  I tell you—god, I tell you everything, don’t I?  We talk more than I talk with anyone else.  I’m having dinner with you more nights a week than not, we see each other on weekends…”  She shifted her weight, trying to rein in her nervous rambling.

He frowned at her, obviously confused.

“Is that bad?  If you need more time to yourself, you need only—”

“No, Henry!”  She sighed impatiently.  “No, it’s not bad.  It’s wonderful, and great, and when I don’t think about it too hard, I’m happier than I’ve been in so long.  But…but I think I’m in love with you.”  The admission came tumbling out, and Henry shut his mouth, looking at her with wide eyes.  “And I’m _terrified_.  Okay?  It scares me out of my mind.”

He was painfully still and silent, and she willed him to say something, anything.  Finally he licked his lips and nodded slowly.

“Love is terrifying.  I can understand how you feel.”  He blinked, finally looking away from her and glancing out towards the city skyline behind her, and as his head moved she could see the frantic beat of his pulse at his throat.  He swallowed, and then looked back to her.  “I understand, because there’s not a moment I’m with you that I’m not terrified myself.”

The last bit of pretense was washed away with his words.  They’d been coming to this for months now, and finally they’d laid their cards on the table. 

“Then what do we do?” she asked.

Henry smiled and shook his head.

"I don’t know.  But I do know that I love you dearly, Jo, and I’m sure I always will.  What that looks like is up to you.  We needn’t do anything, if you don’t want to.  My life is all the richer for having you in it, in any form.”

The wind licked at his jacket, and he squinted as a reflection of the sun off glass windows shone in his eyes, crinkling his eyes up along smile lines. She lifted a hand to his face to cup his jaw.  He met her hand there, gently grasping her wrist and stroking his thumb over the inside of her palm.

She lasted all of five seconds before she gently pulled him to her.  His arms wrapped around her as she kissed him, deep and slow and sweet.  It was their first kiss, but it felt easy and familiar, one more step in a relationship that was as natural as water flowing through a river. 

She might be terrified, but she was not a coward.  This was new and scary for both of them, and they were going to face their fears together.  That was always easier than trying to face them alone.


End file.
